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All posts for the month April, 2009

Check out my guesting on QTube, on QTV, tomorrow night, April 30, 2009, at 10:15 pm. I come out in the portion where they check out the lives of the bloggers, and they also checked out my gear, like cameras and stuff, and also my collections, and even our little ones, Nairobi (the chihuahua) and Cairo (the yorkie). I don’t know how long the clip would be, but the filming was pretty extensive. They also shot scenes in RX and we also had an interview. I’m pretty curious as to how the whole thing would turn out, since this is the first time that I’m being featured not as a radio personality, but as a blogger. It’s just so fitting that Strange Fruit should be featured right after our 1 million hits milestone. Anyway, hope you guys can catch it! Again, that’s tomorrow night, April 30, 10:15 pm on QTV.

(Thank you to Mr. Luis Velasco III and Greenwich for the pictures. All photos in this post are courtesy of Greenwich.)

Greenwich asked us to host their pizza party to launch their Xtreme Cheese Pizzas yesterday, and we were thrilled to be part of their event. We go way back with Greenwich, since they would always invite us to their events, for like talks and hostings. So we were stoked to host when we got to Greenwich Megamall, especially since we knew we were also going to meet Bea Alonzo (John Lloyd Cruz couldn’t make it since he was shooting a movie in the U.S.).

(Michelle of Greenwich)

So we hosted the event, played some games with the press folk who attended the launch, and debuted the 3rd installment in the “sobrang cheesy!” series of Greenwich ads. It was presented by Greenwich brand manager, Joseph Aruta:

The guests were also treated to a 2-song serenade by one of the Greenwich gang, “Bruno”, whose actual name is Lloyd Zaragosa. He sang a couple of R&B tunes and the guy can really bring it! HIn the ads, he plays the tattooed toughie who has a softie side, so we were really surprised that he can sing, and sing very well at that! And he’s got some major ink going on there.

And then of course, there’s the star of the event, the stunning Bea Alonzo. We didn’t expect that she would be so tall! She was so down-to-earth and unassuming, that everyone was just gushing over her and wanting a minute or two for a chat or a photo-op. Small wonder because the camera loves her:

We also had “Issa” of the Greenwich gang, but unfortunately I don’t have a picture with her, although I found one, but showing her only from the side. Too bad, because she’s incredibly beautiful, and she looks very different from how she looks like on TV. Just as beautiful, but different.

Okay, just got my hands on some pictures of “Issa”, Mika Lagdameo in real life. Pretty won’t be enough to describe her:

(with Luis Velasco III of Greenwich)

Then, the big surprise: Bea didn’t know that John Lloyd was actually on the phone from the U.S., at something like 1 in the morning, and joined us via phone patch. It was cool, and their banter was really funny. They have this cariño brutal thing going on. For instance, John Lloyd asked her how the event was, and she said, “Masaya, wala ka eh.” She admitted that whenever people see just how they interact when they’re together, everyone wonders how they ever became a love team. But she said that’s just the nature of their friendship.

It was surreal talking to John Lloyd on the phone, and hosting with Bea Alonzo, on the same day that we interviewed chef Ming Tsai over the phone at RX! We felt so starstruck with all those celebrities. We felt like country bumpkins from some hick town. It was really fun though, especially since the celebs were so disarming, none of the snooty showbiz attitude we imagine some to have. They were really easy to talk to and readily approachable. But I guess the icing on the cake was, as we were saying goodbye to John Lloyd, he interrupted us by asking if he could say something. So of course we said yes, only for him to tell us, “You know what guys, I’m a fan.” And when we laughed (since we thought, obviously it was a joke), he said, “No, I’m serious!” Hehe…for once we didn’t know what to say! It was really just nice of him to say that. He didn’t have to, but he did. And we were glad he did. 🙂

So again, thanks a bunch to Greenwich for a swell time yesterday! Big thanks to Luis, Francis, Joseph, Michelle, and everyone else who made the event such a memorable one for us! Yesterday, we didn’t find a cruise ship…we didn’t find a battle ship…what we found was…friendship. Yihee, sobrang cheesy! 😀

I used to be a big fan of fortune-tellers until I decided that I’d be the captain of my own ship. Not that my fortune got any better, but even if they could see into the future, I’d rather not know. And I’d still like to think that nothing is set in stone; that I still have a say in the outcome. Now, if ever I’d go, I take what I hear with a sack of salt.

September 29, 2008 → The Top Ten Fortune-teller Quotes

Your Highness – The palm-reader correctly guessed that my last meal was binagoongang baboy. When I asked how she knew, she said: “Amoy bagoong kamay mo.”

Eylek – “If you don’t die within the next 3 years, whatever you wish for will come true.”

Famous Marcus – Fortune teller told me that the no.5 played a big role in my fortune. So excitedly on the 5th day of the 5th month I went to the tracks and on the 5th race I bet 500 pesos on horse no.5. Guess what? The horse came in 5th.

Vonski01 – I went to Quiapo and asked a manghuhula how much she charged. She said: “500 kada tanong, at naka-isa ka na.”

Dru – Madame Auring when the Ms Universe pageant was last held in Manila: “Mananalo si Miss Valenzuela!” (Bulacan?)

Rogue – A woman went ot a fortune-teller and said: “I don’t know which of my 2 suitors I should marry! Who’s the lucky one?” The fortune-teller said: “One will marry you. The other, will be the lucky one.”

Chesapeak – My friend and I went to Tagaytay and the fortune-teller told me while pointing to my friend: “May gusto siya sa iyo.” We laughed and said that we’re only good friends. Ayun, 7 years na kaming kasal.

Yñaki – Believe it or not, when I was about 14 or 15 years old, this lady approached me and asked if I want to know my future, and she’s not charging anything. Two of the three things she told me already happened and the third is a couple of more years before I find out: my death at age 75!

1 million hits. Wow. Sometime last Saturday, April 25, we finally breached the 1 million hit mark for this blog, Strange Fruit. If I’m not mistake, I started the blog November 25 back in 2007. If so, then it took exactly 1 year and 5 months to reach that benchmark. The number doesn’t really mean anything, at least not in terms of what it makes the blog. But what it DOES mean is that I’m extremely grateful for the community that was built around this blog, especially the people who come over and check it on a regular basis. Some of you I have met personally, but most I probably haven’t. Yet, we share a little corner in cyberspace where you humor my humble posts on anything and everything. So redundancy does NOT apply when it comes to gratitude, so again, thank you to everyone who’s ever dropped by (from here and abroad), from the regular daily visitors, to those who dropped by once and never again. Thank you to those who send in comments (except the spammers, no thank you.); your comments gives the posts legs, and give it a dynamic dimension. Thank you to those who suggest posts, directly or indirectly (whether I see a video or a picture in FB or Multiply, etc., that inspires a post). Thank you to the other bloggers who continue to inspire me. Thank you to Karen Pamintuan who taught me how to blog. And most of all, thank you to The chicogarcia.wordpress.com Awards for the award, “Best Blog Ever. Period. Barrier. Force Field.”

Seriously, I’m sure many will be quick to point out that thousands of other blogs have had more hits in less the time, but it’s OUR first million and I just feel so blessed for this personal milestone and I want to thank everyone who’s kept me inspired to continually update this blog that has kept me sane, more than you’ll ever know. So I hope we’ll have more time together; I’ll keep posting as long as you guys keep dropping by, and please feel free to comment or suggest stuff that’ll make this blog as interactive and community-based as possible. ありがとう、再度来なさい。

Being from La Salle Greenhills (Grade School and High School), this topic is close to my heart. Although I’m really more of a U.P. Maroon, I cannot deny the pull of allegiance of being a Green Archer all those years…ESPECIALLY when it comes to the rivalry with Ateneo. But as host of a radio program, I have to suspend all bias and try to judge the entries as objectively as possible, to ensure I don’t favor La Salle, even unwittingly. I don’t always succeed, but I do appreciate a good laugh, even if it’s at the expense of my Alma Mater.

September 26, 2008 → The Top Ten Reasons Why Ateneo OR La Salle Is Better

No name – Ateneo, kasi religious. Kasapi ako sa iglesia ni Chris Tiu.

Enzo – La Salle, because Ateneans make good employees, while Lasallians make good employers.

Eventually the night got deeper and the Puerto Galera seashore was getting more and more packed with partygoers. We got the technical glitches out of the way, and DJ McCoy started to spin!

Instantly the crowd got up on its feet and started enjoying the party music, dancing the night away, even cheering when their favorite song came on. Then, pumped by gallons of rum coke, Delle and I hosted the games in between sets and boy, were the audience ready to play! We were giving away sunblock and a really nice reusable underwater cameras! The first game was looking for the best tats on the best beach bods. We whittled it down to 4 finalists:

The prize went to this dude whose tats extended even to his back!

Then we looked for the best looking couple with the hottest beach bodies! We ended up with a male-female couple, a male-male couple, and a female-female couple! But the prize went to the male-female couple who was also the crowd favorite.

Our final prize went to whoever can strip to his or her swimwear in the sexiest way! We had 4 finalists but we had a showdown between one guy and one girl and they bumped and grinded to the crowd’s squeals of delight. The decision was unanimous – even her competition concurred:

We had eveything that night! We had flairtenders (bartenders who did those bottle juggling tricks):

We had a hot fire lady:

And all kinds of people bringin’ sexy back!

I tell you, it was a wild party! Of course, the RX staff wasn’t far behind in enjoying the evening. We were hosting the party, but it doesn’t say anywhere that we can’t enjoy ourselves. And we did:

To be honest, we were anxious at first because before we started the party, people who saw the stage started asking which band was going to play! We didn’t know how the crowd would react once they find out that there was no band. But none of those anxieties mattered because Puerto Galera knows how to par-tay!!!

I swear, that was fun. I just wished I didn’t have to wake up at 5am the next day. I’m sure the RX peeps going to Boracay this weekend for the final Hot Summer Fling will have a blast as well. Now that’s what I call a night to remember…

In the thick of the Susan Boyle frenzy comes a challenger in just as unexpected a package: 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi. Britain’s Got Talent has become a beehive of activity with two incredibly talented singers in unlikely packages coming head-to-head to win the heart of a nation, and soon, the world. The Simon Cowell of Britain’s Got Talent is a far cry from the one of American Idol. He seems to take American Idol less seriously, and he’s been extra caustic, extra irritable this season, more than I’ve ever seen him. Plus, this is the only season in AI where, for the first time ever, I really don’t like him. Watching him in Britain’s Got Talent reminds me of why I liked this guy so much in previous seasons. I trust his judgement so much, and without giving away too much for those who haven’t seen the video, you’ll see how spot-on his call is on many things.

Of course many hypothesize that the whole thing was staged, that Shaheen was brought in precisely to pit against Susan Boyle, but then for many seasons now the same has been said about American Idol. But of course, no hard evidence exists, just countless conspiracy theories. Just recently the supposed leak said that the final four will be Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert, Lil Rounds and Alexis Grace. Obviously this “leak” was a fake.

Back to BGT, I really wish we had this televised here the way AI is, because I really feel we’re missing out on some really good TV. Some find the treatment too manipulative, but it works for me. I think the British sensibility is actually closer to ours that the American perspective. Even with music, the British charts is littered with Pinoy faves like dance and pop, while the American Hot 100 is dominated more by Rap, Hiphop and R&B.

This is a competition that I’d really like to follow, mainly because it’s a competition of talent, regardless of age, shape or size, and you feel the equalizing effect of raw talent in full effect. It gives the hope that even regular folks like you and me have an actual shot at greatness.